Family arrangements, identity verification, and happiness

Abstract

We study how the family structural arrangements individuals inhabit, the cultural meanings that accompany these structures, and individuals' experiences of identity verification within these structures are related to their general happiness. We use data (N = 1304) from the 2014 General Social Survey Identity Module to study the normative and non-normative family arrangements in which individuals reside, their experience of verification of the parent/non-parent identity, and their happiness. We find that parent/non-parent identity verification is positively associated with happiness for normative family arrangements but not non-normative family arrangements. We discuss how social structural arrangements and a culture that supports them may assist the identity verifying outcome of happiness, while structural arrangements and a culture that is not as supportive of certain family forms may undermine the identity verifying outcome of happiness. The findings provide insights into how social structure and culture at the macro level coalesce with the identity verification process at the micro level in affecting the emotional tenor of people's lives.